Phosphene

Hello!

I'm about to start my 4 year college degree in the U.S.

I might be considering a career in law and am wondering if I could cut out 2 extra years of U.S. law school expenses by coming home to do a 1-year full-time GDL.

I know that some states, e.g. New York, California, accept 3 year law degrees with a focus on English common law in order to sit the bar exam, but I cannot find any similar information about acceptance of the Graduate Diploma in Law.

Does anyone know anything about this?

Thanks!
Mason

scrubbedexpat099

Have you considered asking those who hold the bar exams?

Phosphene

That's a very good point. I'll email a few and ask them. I'm struggling to find quality information about legal careers in the U.S. online, whereas I can find a wealth of equivalent information for the U.K.

Virginia, the state I am studying in, has the option of doing a 3 year apprenticeship in law rather than 3 years of law school, but the rates of passing the Bar are greatly reduced in those who chose the apprenticeship route, and I'm not even sure if they'd be open to non-U.S. Citizens.

Part of the document issues by the Multi-State Bar Exam, under the Foreign Education section says this

"If a foreign law school graduate obtains an LL.M. or other graduate law degree from an ABA-approved law school, is the graduate then eligible to take the bar exam on this basis alone?"

So the implication of that is that it may be accepted in California and New York.

I'll update the thread if I ever find an answer!

retzie

Let me preface this by saying I am not remotely in the area of law, but I spent plenty of time in academia.

How is one year of study supposed to be equivalent to three years? Either it is hyper-compressed, or cuts out some content (or both). Either way, I would be very sceptical that it provides equivalent preparation for a career in law. So my question is: even if you *can* find someone to say "oh yes, it's a possibility", is this really the best way to reach your goal?

(In my experience, if you are persistent enough, you can usually corner someone in a university and get them to say something generically like what you want to hear. That is not the same thing as the situation actually being as you would like it.)

It says degree, but you are talking about a diploma. Not the same thing.

I do appreciate the position you are in. But even if you can make it through the bureaucratic side of things, would anyone actually employ a lawyer on the basis of a 1-year diploma from another country? I suspect not. I recommend exploring every possible option to complete the 3-year degree in the US within your budget.

scrubbedexpat099

One thing I find confusing, I thought the Bar was basically an authorisation to work in a given State, you are not a US Citizen, are you a Permanent Resident?

Rete

If your ultimate goal is to practice law within the US, then you really should go for your LLM inside of the US and not in the UK.

My nephew got his 4 year bachelor's degree at Washington and Lee University in political science and then went on to get his law degree at George Washington University. He currently practices law in Washington, DC, as does his wife.

The UK law is different than US law in many respects. I would not recommend going back to the UK to get an abbreviated diploma in law. You will probably just have to redo that year and add the missing years in order to get your degree.

Owen778

Your circumstances are not clear from your post. However, if you have a student visa and no guaranteed path to permanent residency or citizenship, I would not undertake any degree that provides an education specific to the USA, and that would include any US law degree. You would have to leave the US after the degree, then be left with a nearly useless qualification.

Phosphene

Thanks for your responses.

--Thread Closed--

old.sparkles

You're funny

tom169

What a waste of time

civilservant

I've never in nearly 10 years on BE seen an OP try to close their own thread

scrubbedexpat099

I did not know it was even possible?

spouse of scouse

It's not Only moderators (or maybe only super moderators) can close threads.

scrubbedexpat099

Perhaps the OP has delusions of grandeur?

scot47

If you want to practice Law in the USA - study in the US, not in UK.